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Joint venture: KLM architects combine Swiss precision with Californian levity
Main image: Multi-family home Torkelgässli 8, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland, exterior view. Top right: Parfanna Mels building project. Above: Riva Fit fitness centre in Walenstadt, exterior view.
The combination of Swiss precision with a joyful approach gives KLM architecture its special knack for clear-shaped, dynamic structures, with creative innovation included. TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI | PHOTOS: RENDERING – KLM ARCHITECTS
The small and diverse team consists of Swiss architects Stephan Klingler and his daughter Lara in collaboration with architects Stephan Mundwiler and his wife Cara Lee, who both received their master’s degrees in the US. For Stephan Mundwiler, the transatlantic organisation means frequent travelling between California and Switzerland; media like email and Skype have proven essential for a lively and frequent exchange between the Swiss base and the LA office. The Walenstadt team’s expertise in detailed construction management is of prominent importance within this fertile connection. KLM architects was founded in 2011 to build and expand synergies concerning experience, know-how and personnel 82 | Issue 42 | September 2016
of the two existing companies Busa + Klingler Architekten, Walenstadt and lee + mundwiler architects, Los Angeles USA. Klingler and Mundwiler had met a few years earlier in Santa Monica and commonalities were soon detected and further established through sharing two projects for Swiss competitions. With winning the tender for the ‘Parfanna’ building project for nine apartment houses containing 74 living units, the common ground for future co-work was paved. Successful examples are the planning and execution of the Riva Fit fitness centre in Walenstadt and the multi-family dwelling ‘Torkelgässli 8’ in Bad Ragaz, currently under construction. Competition work is a main source of acquisition for KLM but, thanks to the successful projects in Eastern
Switzerland, direct commissions are further to become part of their working portfolio. The range of clients mirrors the multifold approach of the KLM team, consisting of communities, private investors as well as individual companies and builders. Private buyers like the families investing in the ‘Torkelgässli 8 in Bad Ragaz’ project enjoy detailed individual fitouts for their chosen apartment. With construction underway until December, two of the 4.5 – 5.5 room apartments in the unique setting of the spa town are still for sale. For 2017, KLM are looking at beginning their Parfanna project in Mels and the initiation of a concept for 70 building units in the picturesque community of Vilters-Wangs. Californian lightness and Swiss precision: Together, the combined forces of KLM architects unbeatably create an innovative, detailed architecture with a sense of ease. www.klm-arch.com